The formula may have changed to tighten their guidelines, but the percentage breakdown of what’s important in the Google Algorithm seems to have remained the same. According to a survey of seventy-two SEO firms conducted by SEOmoz.com, there are seven dominant variables or variable groups in the Google Algorithm. We’ve outlined them for you below to help you better understand how search marketing works and what you need to do to attain higher page rank in 2012.

Trust/Authority – 23.87%

As a San Diego website design company we understand trust and authority scores. We’ve built our online reputation by being true to our original mission and making sure that we provide valuable information to our visitors through comprehensive content development. We offer that same service to our clients. It’s not necessary to build websites specifically for the search engine spiders. By creating sites that are user friendly and informative we ensure that our customers will be able to build their own online reputation. Google assigns the highest page ranks to aged websites where the URL, content, and tags all match what that site has to offer. Not surprisingly, those are the elements that human visitors look for also.

Link Popularity – 22.33%

How many visitors are coming to your website? How many are staying and how many are coming back again? If you’ve been wondering whether traffic matters in the Google algorithmic calculations for page rank, here’s your answer. It matters – a lot. Nearly thirty percent of the total variables in the algorithm have to do with how much traffic is coming to your website every day. Two of the most important aspects of that traffic are in this category – time on site and return visitors. These are statistics that can be tracked using any basic analytics program. The installation of the coding for analytics is part of what we here at Skybox do with any San Diego web design.

Anchor Text of External Links – 20.26%

You’ve heard of link building? The use of anchor text links in your content and the presence of external links are two factors that add up to a little over twenty percent of the total algorithmic equation. This percentage remained the same after Google Panda. What changed is the way that Google categorizes links. Sites that have too many of them going out can be classified as “link farms” and be dropped from search rankings altogether. Improper linking is the variable that caused twelve percent of all websites searched to lose their high page rank last year. Confused? Our San Diego SEO team can help you make the right decisions on linking today and into the future.

On Page Keyword Usage – 15.04%

Content is king and keywords are the bread and butter of all content. “Long Tail Keywords and Longer Articles” will be the topic of next week’s blog post here at Skybox, so make sure you check back to learn more about this. Once again, Google did not change the level of importance they attach to keyword density, but they have changed their standards for both that density and the lengths of the articles that contain those keywords. Have you been posting 350-500 word articles on your blog? You might want to increase your word counts and use more long tail keywords. Visit us next week and we’ll tell you more about the new standards for 2012.

Registration + Hosting Data – 6.91%

Yes, your hosting company can affect your page rank. Dedicated hosting may cost you a little more but it pays off when you get to Page One. Registration within the country you market in is also important. Search is becoming more personally targeted as it evolves, so your potential customers may not ever see you if your site is hosted or registered in another country. Don’t skimp on expenses in this area. The best web design technology in the world can’t change the geographic location of a server.

Traffic + CTR Data – 6.29%

This is the other piece of the total traffic variable. Why is “Link Popularity” weighted heavier than original traffic and click-through rate? Anyone can buy traffic. Google actually sells it using Google Adwords. As for click-through rate, our San Diego web design team can build a site that converts. The initial sale doesn’t matter much to Google. It’s whether or not your customers come back that counts the most.

Social Graph Metrics – 5.30%

This is the one category that SEO firms seemed to be a bit uncertain about. Google won’t release its exact formula, but it’s known from experience that they do count social media metrics as roughly five percent of their calculations. Our San Diego social media experts believe that this number will grow in 2012. The development of Google+ and the overwhelming success of Facebook show that social media could be the primary medium for search in the future. Do we expect changes in this area in 2012? It’s likely. Stay tuned and we’ll keep you updated as new information becomes available.

Skybox Creative is a San Diego based Branding Agency with an emphasis on Web Design and SEO. Get in touch for a free quote on your next design project or search engine marketing campaign! info@skyboxcreative.com or call us at 619.381.3825

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First off, simply redesigning the theme and color mix of your landing page is not targeting holiday shoppers. Your site can have hearts and teddy bears all over it, but if the content doesn’t mention the holiday you won’t get any traffic. Some companies change the design for a day as an enticement to regular customers, but if you’re not actually selling holiday items or trying to attract new customers, what’s the point? A change in the design could confuse your regular visitors, maybe even drive some away.

Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, July 4^th, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, these are all key holidays every year that have their fair share of artwork and website themes. Are you going to change your landing page design each time you celebrate a holiday? What if you offend someone? Not everyone celebrates Christmas, you know, and among those that do there’s an ongoing dispute about proper symbolism. For that matter, many are opposed to Valentine’s Day and Halloween. That cool San Diego website design for the holidays doesn’t sound so great anymore, does it?

Here’s our advice. Do it anyway, but do it right. If you want to theme your landing page for the holidays we think it’s a great idea, but don’t use the same landing page you use all year. We can create one that is holiday specific and switch to it for just that day, complete with keyword rich content that actually talks about the significance of the holiday to you, your business, and your customers. Do you run a holiday special on Valentine’s Day every year? Why not build a landing page that stays on site all year, but leave it in the background on other days? Google will see it and provide you better holiday search traffic because of it. That’s how you market for the holidays.

The members of our San Diego SEO team will tell you that marketing to the right holiday keywords is a lucrative endeavor. Any time you can narrow down a market by geographic, social, or temporal classification you have a better shot at getting the lion’s share of traffic for that niche. If you market paper products you might have a hard time getting to Google Page One for the keyword “paper products”. Getting there for “San Diego Valentines Day Paper Products” is much easier. You’ll need a new holiday specific landing page to pull that off. Contact us to learn more.

Skybox Creative is a San Diego based Branding Agency with an emphasis on Web Design and SEO. Get in touch for a free quote on your next design project or search engine marketing campaign! info@skyboxcreative.com or call us at 619.381.3825

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Prior to starting the rebranding campaign, Skybox had a discovery session to understand the key elements of the brand that were working and what needed to change. The image below shows the brand and web design prior to the redesign.

BEFORE

The term Cygnus means swan, symbolizing the flawless grace with which the technology plays the most complex content on your mobile device. There was already some brand equity established with the color palette, icon and name, so Skybox had to build on that to create a contemporary brand image that communicates “technology”.

We switched to a lowercase font to give the brand a more consumer, friendly feel since the end product is consumer oriented rather than just B2B. The swan icon was updated with a unified symbol, wings that symbolize “wifi” technology, and a deepened red to give the brand a different level of sophistication. The newly designed icon can be seen on the web screenshot below (or on the client’s site here: www.cygnusbroadband.com).

For the website structure and design, we took a long hard look at the technology itself and asked ourselves: What is the core value here? Sometimes the most complex technologies and businesses have very simple answers. In this case, the seamless streaming of rich media to mobile devices that have a hard time keeping up with the demands of a constantly “engaged” technology based world. In the very first meeting between Skybox and Cygnus, a demo of the before/after video sample had us sold. Immediately we knew, this video sample needs to take center stage… why talk about it if you can show it. There is no denying the difference.

Cygnus Boradband Web Design + Branding - AFTER

Cygnus Boradband Interior Web Page Design - AFTER

This technology, if adopted by both network providers and cell phone manufacturers, allows up to 25% more simultaneous streams of rich media content for users within the same region no matter how “bogged down” the network is. The pico cell technology is intelligent enough to break up complex data streams and allow more bandwidth to the users who need it most. We were able to funnel this tech-heavy concept into an easy-to-understand message through our copywriting and supporting graphic imagery.

We combined custom illustrative elements with impactful photography to give the brand a lasting impression, from the clever pop-ups to represent data usage on the technology page (www.cygnusbroadband.com/technology), to the social video icons bursting out from the phone on the newsroom page (www.cygnusbroadband.com/newsroom/news), to the fun paper airplane and unique map illustration on the contact us page (www.cygnusbroadband.com/contact-us), the Cygnus brand communicates mobile expertise and innovation at every step!

Skybox Creative is a San Diego based Branding Agency with an emphasis on Web Design and SEO. Get in touch for a free quote on your next design project or search engine marketing campaign! info@skyboxcreative.com or call us at 619.381.3825

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Our team is not clairvoyant, but we do understand trends and user behavior patterns when it comes to internet marketing. The San Diego web design end of our business is the part that focuses on the now, attracting the prospects of today and converting them into regular paying customers. We create websites that are vivid and comprehensive; giving web shoppers the experience they’re looking for, the encounter that makes them want to come back for more. The images we use to capture the imaginations of these users are the snapshots and color packages that work today. Updates for the future will happen when they’re needed. Website design is all about getting results now.

SEO is different. Search Engine Optimization is a process. It takes time to get good links. The best ones have to go through an editorial and approval process, so when our San Diego SEO division starts linking we need to look to the future, not the present. Where will we be and who will we be trying to reach six months from now, a year from now, or in the year 2017? We know that we have a generation out there with $200 billion in purchase power now, and potential for much more in the future, so the decision about who to market to is easy.

Using Social Media to Reach Generation Y

Surveys of the shopping and purchasing behaviors of Generation Y show some interesting trends. According to eMarketer, 65% of users aged 18 to 24 review information shared on social media sites before making a purchase. Eight out of ten of these consumers say user generated content from people they don’t know influences their decision to buy. Surprisingly, over half of those surveyed said that the input from strangers was actually more important than what their family and friends had to say. Our San Diego social media marketing team has taken note of this and have incorporated it into our internet marketing strategies.

According to another source, eConsultancy, 2/3 of all consumers use search engines to look for the products and services they require. In the past decade, search engines and social media sites have become more closely aligned. If you go viral on Facebook you’ll end up on Google, page 1. Traffic is an important variable in the Google search algorithm because traffic brings more links and shows that your site is popular. To achieve success on the web you need a combination of SEO, social media marketing, and quality content, both provider and user generated. Contact Skybox Creative today to learn more about how we can provide these for you.

Skybox Creative is a San Diego based Creative Agency with an emphasis on Web Design and SEO. Get in touch for a free quote on your next design project or search engine marketing campaign! info@skyboxcreative.com or call us at 619.381.3825

It’s the hype that gets you to watch the commercials – the early sneak peeks, the rumors of which are going to the best, and the feeling that you’ll be one of the first to see it air between 1^st and 2^nd Quarters. Advertising companies spend big bucks on these 30-second spots. Time slots during the Super Bowl are prime real estate and these ads need to pop — whether its celebrity cameos, hilarious writing, innovative graphics, new music, or the unveiling of a hot new product, there’s an anticipation that builds before the big game day.  Normally, you don’t get hype on the average airing of a Target or Home Depot ad. As the audience, we usually have no idea when a commercial first airs. But when there’s hype, there’s viewers. And for over 30 years, the Super Bowl commercial hype is an essential part of our American advertising culture. Year after year we are reminded of how much we love cars, Bud Light, Pepsi, talking babies, and polar bears. And year after year, we come back for more. They’re a tradition, just like game snacks. But this year was a little extra special. Not only did we get our fill of “funny”, but there were a few “tearjerkers” in the bunch.

So what were some of our favorite commercials during Super Bowl 46? Take a look:

Volkswagen does it again.

Playing on their Star Wars theme, this year VW gave us “The Dog Strikes Back”. And hey, why can’t commercials have sequels? VW proves that they sure are as funny and successful as the first. Standout moment: Dog Does Pilates   PLAY IT

Jerry’s back.

Seinfeld unveils the new Acura Advance with a funny montage of attempts to be the first to own this sleek car. Standout moment: The Last Living Munchkin   PLAY IT

Chevy survives the Mayan Apocalypse.

A very timely look at our impending 2012 doom. But hey, some of us survive and there’s twinkies! Standout moment: Barry Manillow’s “Looks Like We Made It” song choice   PLAY IT

Honda!

Thank you for giving us that John Hughes goodness with a play on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off starring Ferris himself, Mathew Broderick. Cleverly shot and edited this commercial gives the right amount of nostalgia and enough laughs even for the pre-Bueller generation. Standout moment: Broderick on a parade float in Chinatown   PLAY IT

And a standing O goes to:

Toyota Camry’s “Connections”

A poignant commercial that reminds us of all the experiences we share in cars. And for the millions watching at home, an extra special reminder that life is made up of moments – some life-changing, others simple and sweet.   PLAY IT

As another Super Bowl came to a close, we added to our chain of moments one more, gathering around with family, friends, or strangers to stop things for a few short hours and share in watching a team make history. I guess there is definitely something super in that.

As a team who studies branding and advertising on a daily basis, we have great insight into the psychology of brand influence. Our creative solutions create the hype you crave for your brand. Get in touch for a quote for your next web or branding project info@skyboxcreative.com or call us at 619-381-3825!

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The best way to ensure high conversion rates is by testing a number of different landing pages. Using A/B testing techniques and selective groups of potential consumers, internet marketing companies are able to determine exactly which landing page is going to bring you the best results. We document these results and incorporate the universally successful elements into our regular web design techniques. What have we learned from this process? The visual elements are important; the content is what sells.

The average consumer today who shops online is far more savvy and well-educated than those of five or ten years ago. Try running an Adwords campaign if you’re looking for evidence to support that statement. Web shoppers have become oblivious to those little blue words in the side bar or at the top of the page. Those same shoppers are also less likely to click the “sign-up” or “buy now” buttons that used to be so successful in San Diego web design. Today’s consumer needs more before they’ll commit.

One of the most effective web design techniques to capture the far more skeptical consumers of today is to remove the action button from the front page altogether. Give the visitor more content or an informational video before you ask for the purchase or sign up. It’s not like a physical retail location where too many people onsite will affect the level and quality of service they get. Increased time on site is good for an internet based business. Attaining it is one of the goals of our San Diego SEO people.

Adding a purchase page to a website instead of attempting to secure the purchase on the landing page has a twofold benefit. First, it adds value to your website, giving the consumer a sense of confidence in your product or service because you put useful information before an attempt to close a sale. Second, the additional page and extra time on site are both variables in the Google algorithm; the purchase page actually helps you secure a higher page rank and position. Those of us in the design world learn early on that simplicity sells. Removing the “buy now” button and adding a purchase page is a simple process, one that will translate into a higher conversion rate for you.

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At first glimpse you’ll notice how the photography grabs you. The custom designed javascript slider takes over with a rotating photo sequence of the “busy yet exciting” women in sportswear that can be worn in the office, on the course, or out on the town. It’s a mural bar of images that grabs your attention like a vibrant piece of street art. Just beneath it, the tag line tells us exactly what we’re thinking “Bet you didn’t think golf could look this good…” It’s true, we didn’t.

Just above the photo mural is a simple, easy-to-navigate menu that includes a “Get Inspired” section to showcase the women of Vivacity as well as a “Lookbook” that allows customers to view their seasonal lines. All of the pages can be managed and updated by the client using WordPress as the CMS (Content Management System). All of our web packages include a 1-2 hour training post launch to enable our clients to manage their own websites.

The color blocking of the site is consistent with the concept of the clothing. The black and white creates a streamlined, simplistic contrast. On the lower half of your screen you’ll notice two attention grabbing boxes, including a call out for the Recent Videos page and Featured Ambassador page. To the right, we included an RSS feed pulling the most recent blog article into the home page automatically, keeping the content fresh (which we know Google loves). We integrated sleek little social media buttons to the two most commonly used social networks on the planet – FACEBOOK & TWITTER, reminding the visitor to share and share alike. They are tastefully placed and keep with the hip look of the page.

Multimedia also plays a vital role in any modern web design. After clicking “Recent Videos” on the home screen, you will arrive at the Videos page. Using Vimeo or YouTube as the video hosting source, clients can easily embed video and make updates without having prior knowledge of video compression or server requirements. There are also huge social media and SEO benefits to embedding a video from a social video community like the ones mentioned above.

By definition, vivacity is to be vivacious and to be vivacious, you must be lively in spirit. Skybox Creative allowed the vivacity of this sportswear line to express itself within a simple design that allows the spirit of the clothing speak for itself. It’s bold. It’s sophisticated. It’s basic. And I think you’ll agree that it’s DEFINITELY not boring.

Skybox Creative is a San Diego based Branding Agency with an emphasis on Web Design and SEO. Get in touch for a free quote on your next design project or search engine marketing campaign! info@skyboxcreative.com or call us at 619.381.3825

Obviously, the MPAA and RIAA have a vested interest in stopping online privacy, so why are the rest of us opposed to this legislation? Last week’s protest was about killing the bills, but it was also an effort to help others become more informed about the how and why of the whole process. No one wants to see the misuse or theft of intellectual property, but the approach used by both of these bills is an infringement on some of the basic freedoms we hold dear in this country. In fact, if you read the wording, SOPA and PIPA actually penalize American businesses for acts committed by foreign websites.

The motivating force behind SOPA and PIPA is the presence of pirated film, scripts, and music on foreign sites before they are officially released. Since the US government doesn’t have any jurisdiction over the countries these sites are based in, the proposal is that any US sites linking to them should be court-ordered to remove those links – within five days of receiving the order from the attorney general. Who’s opposed to that? Google, Facebook, eBay and PayPal are four of the major names speaking out against it, and the primary organizers in last week’s blackout.

SOPA also included language that targeted “harmful” products such as foreign pharmaceuticals, but didn’t have any guidelines or regulatory agency responsibility for determining what was considered “harmful” and why. It would also give US companies the option of shutting off sites like WikiLeaks, a move that reeks of censorship and a dangerous precedent towards limiting the free speech we all hold dear. While some may feel that Julian Assange is an irresponsible journalist, if we cut him off, where does the censorship stop? Are our newspapers next?

The justification being used by those who support SOPA and PIPA may seem sound on the surface – an attempt to protect intellectual property rights – but the bills themselves are a violation of the First Amendment, which protects the right to freedom of expression from government interference. They also penalize legitimate businesses here in the United States for the actions of others in foreign countries. We here at Skybox Creative are opposed to both of those. Hopefully you are too.

The International Creativity Awards is a prestigious competition that has been handing out awards in print, web, and advertising design for over 40 years. First established in 1970 as a traveling exhibit in conjunction with Art Direction Magazine, this independent annual awards competition grew in scope and size very quickly into a showcase for the most innovative and talented artists around the globe. Top works in each category are reproduced into what is now known as the 400-page Creativity Awards Annual – the leading book on where the future of design is headed. And the future of design is not only an arena for the professional aesthetic, students are also encouraged to submit their work – because as we know, creativity knows no limits…it just needs to get a nod by an esteemed panel of judges.

Not unlike the Academy voters, the Creativity Awards judges have a very difficult job of reviewing a multitude of submissions in various categories. But what’s refreshing about the judges chosen is that each design professional volunteers their time with the hopes of finding “the next new thing” — without bias or personal agenda. Every year new judges are selected for fresh perspectives and we’re excited to announce that this year Skybox Creative’s Angelina Sereno will be joining the international panel to judge the Media and Interactive Competition. Applause! Sereno has over 12 years of experience with web technology and emerging media. For the competition, her focus is in the interactive division where categories such as Email Design, Online Advertising, Web Gaming, and Website Design (whether Consumer, Catalog, or for Self-Promotion) will all be judged by her award-winning sensibility. It’s effective communication, creativity, and innovation that Sereno hopes to find in the submissions she reviews – so make sure you refine that work to the next level! And, the good news is, you still have time to do it. The 42^nd Annual Media & Interactive Deadline is April 6, 2012. So, sleek up that logo, streamline that game, simplify that website. It’s awards season. Let the Creativity Awards start buzzing about YOU.

For eligibility, fees, and other must-knows please visit: Creativity Awards Eligibility

Take a look at Facebook as an example. Inexperienced marketers look at the shear volume of subscribers and seek ways to reach them all. Seasoned professionals understand that there are millions of other businesses trying to implement that same strategy. You need unlimited time, and bottomless pockets, to compete on that level. Try and you’ll be that little fish who gets devoured in the big ocean. Establishing and growing brand awareness is all about industry dominance, not wishful thinking.

As a San Diego Website Design firm, we specialize in creating unique websites that consumers and clients will remember and identify with the company they’re doing business with. The brands of yesteryear, like the McDonald’s arches for instance, have evolved into visual internet images that capture the web surfer’s attention. Getting today’s shoppers and service seekers to stop and read about what you have to offer, even for a few seconds, is a challenge. Here at Skybox Creative, we pride ourselves on being able to build the branded websites that consistently meet that challenge.

Of course, if there’s no traffic coming to your site, there are no captivated visitors and captured email addresses to prove that your new brand is working. Local social media marketing is an effective way to drive the traffic, one that you can use to test your new site. It can also lead to viral marketing that costs nothing and can give you that national or international presence by word of mouth, the best form of marketing there is. What’s the first thing you do when you’re looking for a product or service? You ask a friend.

Social media sites work the same way that search engines do. If you want local exposure, use local keywords. You’ll notice in this post that we have incorporated the keywords “San Diego Social Media” and “San Diego Website Design”. We could have skipped the city name, but we wouldn’t get the local search engine indexing that’s so valuable to us if we did. You can do the same thing with your business when marketing on your Facebook wall or other social media. Use local keywords that will capture local searchers. We’ll provide the branded website that will keep them onsite once they get there.